JN&Z: a destination for back bacon lovers

Strolling on Commercial with a visitor last week, I realized I had never actually been in this deli (closed, evening, whatever) but had only tried their charcuterie at restaurants. What a whole-head experience! Sausages dangle above you like luscious chandeliers, meats glisten and beckon in the display cases, your olfactory centre is assaulted in a stupendously good way by the smells of smoked things. I swear you can hear the meaty goodness happening in the back of this tiny shop.

I bought just a few things as I wasn't going to be home for a while: the beef jerky wasn't my cup of tea and I haven't tried either of the sausages but I'll return for more back bacon. Eight nice thick slices for less than $3, perfectly smoked, moist even after leaving it in the pan a bit too long (oops), ideally textured and salty. So often I find commercially produced back bacon underseasoned. This is neither. Close to perfection really. And that was after five days in the freezer.

The smoked ribs are brilliant and all too rarely found. They're essential for making sarma the way my mama did - tuck ribs in between the cabbage rolls to simmer away and send the flavour off the charts. Oh, must make some soon (just the thing for this weather!).

I live around the corner from this place, literally. It's amazing, but you're right, they're almost always closed. They close at 5pm. They're closed on Sunday. They're closed on holidays, usually for weeks at a time. A few weeks ago they were closed "for summer". However, if you get there at 10am on a Saturday, you're golden. Go later in the day, and they could be sold out of what you're looking for.

My favourite? The smoked pork chops. The Ukrainian sausages are good too, as is the smoked bacon. Pork is what they do best.